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Another SRB Resistant SS Anchor

The sulphate cliffs of Cabo da Roca demolish stainless steel. This fixed hanger is an exception. Many thanks to Luis Fernandes Silva for the sample. To date, the main thrust of this blog has been to attribute the extreme corrosivity of sulphate crags to the action of sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB). It has been observed […]

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Multi-Part Report

Corrosion at Cabo da Roca – 1

The story of a sulphate crag The first part of a multi-part part series In conducting this work I have been greatly assisted by Luis Fernandes Silva and Rui Rosado who have provided multiple samples and photos for analysis. Luis has spent a great deal of time measuring spot-sulphate levels, and the pH profiles of […]

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Distance from the Sea ….Extra

This note was posted to the Titanium Bolting FB Group 27 January 2020 I promise this is the last “distance from the sea” post ….. for a little while at any rate I say extra, because here I’m talking about Heuco Wall (just 50m beyond Low Tide Wall), and this is one of a number […]

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Another Distance From Sea Investigation

This note was posted to the Titanium Bolting FB Group 21 January 2020 Bit of a back story here…. When I first visited Railay, some 12 years ago, I had heard stories about perfectly good-looking SS bolts snapping under body-weight, but being ever the scientific skeptic, I thought I’ll believe that when I see it […]

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More data on the effect of distance from the sea

This note was posted to the Titanium Bolting FB Group 16 January 2020 Today I measured spot sulphates at three points on the set of cliffs containing Diamond Cave, ending with a sample from Diamond Cave North climbing area itself. All showed zero levels as I would expect for a crag 300m from the sea. […]

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Not all white deposits are calcium sulphate

This note was posted to the Titanium Bolting FB Group 16 January 2020 A consistent feature of the “sulphur crag” story, especially at Railay/Tonsai is that sulphate is not found any distance more than 100m or so from the sea. Thus it is no surprise that the white deposit found at Wee’s Present Wall shown […]

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Quick Note

Notes from Railay – 2

This note was posted to the Titanium Bolting FB Group 14 January 2020 The large cave at the Pra Nang side of Klao Luk Choee is home to the classic Todd Skinner route Best Route in Minnesota. At the base of that route there is a white powdery material in great abundance. Analysis shows it […]

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Quick Note

Notes from Railay

This note was posted to the Titanium Bolting FB Group 12 January 2020 The “sulphur” crag story continues. Here we see calcium sulphate crystals deposited on the surface of the rock at Defile Exit, Railay. I hypothesise that this material is deposited as a result of bio/geochemical processes occurring at the rock surface due to […]